The Present invention relates generally to container apparatus, and more particularly, to a multi-chambered urine specimen container with features including automated sample extraction and high forensic integrity.
Urine specimens are taken from people for a variety of reasons. Hospitals take a urine specimen from a patient to conduct laboratory test on the specimen to determine a patient's medical condition. Employers take urine specimens from employees to determine whether the employee has been using any illegal drugs. Recently, athletic competitions such as the Olympics have taken urine specimens from athletes to determine whether they have been using any illegal performance enhancing drugs. Such drug testing serves at least two purposes. First, it act as a deterrent by reminding those who would be tested that drug testing will be done and if they use an illegal substance they will in all likelihood be detected. The second function that drug testing serves is to identify drag users. For example, if an employee in a sensitive job is under the influence of narcotics, their job may be performed in a manner that is not safe and could result in harm to the employee as well as others.
The taking of a specimen from a person undergoing drug testing is usually done in the following manner. Usually, a person is selected to be tested, and asked to urinate into a specimen container while being observed by a witness. The donor places a lid on the specimen container and is then asked to put a label on the specimen container and to write the donor's social security number or other identifying number on the label thus providing the critical link between the donor's identity and the donor's specimen in the specimen container. The donor then delivers the now closed container to an administrator conducting the drug testing. Once the desired number of donors have supplied a specimen, the drug testing administrator delivers the specimens to a testing laboratory to undergo analysis for illegal substances. At the laboratory the urine within the container must be extracted from the container and placed into a test tube in order to be tested. Currently, this is accomplished through manual pouring. This can result in spillage and/or contamination of the specimen. It also requires extra time in the laboratory for such handling of the urine specimen.
In addition to the requirement for manual pouring, specimen containers suffer from other disadvantages. When the container is opened at the laboratory all of the specimen is exposed to external contaminants. In other words, there is no portion of the specimen that is sealed from eternal contaminants while leaving another portion of the specimen available for testing. In known specimen containers, if any foreign substance comes into contact with the specimen within the container, the question of specimen contamination may be subject to litigation.
The present invention overcomes many of the above-described disadvantages of known specimen containers. The present invention is a specimen collection container which provides enhanced security for urine specimens once they are collected. The present invention allows for automated extraction of samples in conjunction with all extraction device and it conforms to government agency protocols for testing in a forensic environment. The present invention is designed for urine collection, transport, and automated sampling. It provides significant benefits in the area of drug testing. The present invention includes multi-chambers and taper resistant/evident features for providing high forensic integrity. The container of the present invention consists of a multi-chambered cup and a cap. The cup has a inner wall and an outer wall. When the cup is mated with the cap, which also has an inner and outer wall, at least two concentric chambers are formed. Variations on the design of the present invention will allow for more than two chambers.
Upon collection of a urine specimen from a donor, urine is donated to fill the cup of the present invention to a level slightly above the inner wall. The cap is then assembled to the cup to divide the specimen into multiple parts. The cap seals the specimen in the cup and seals the liquid in the inner chamber from the liquid in the outer chamber(s). The configuration of the container allows the use of radial seals which are highly reliable without difficult alignment of the mating parts. The design of the cap would displace liquid from the cup if it were over filled. This maintains an air space to allow for expansion of the liquid without damage to the container if the specimen were to freeze during transport. In addition, in a preferred embodiment, teeth on the cup and cap deform and lock as the cap is screwed on. The design of the teeth prevents removal of the cap without great force that would damage the container.
The cap is preferably designed for separate access to the two chambers. A butyl rubber septum is preferably included within the cap to allow sampling from the inner chamber with a hypodermic needle. A foil or tin plastic film on top of the septum may be provided to show evidence of piercing or tampering with the specimen. Sampling through the septum is possible with automatic instruments. An alternate approach does not require the septum or foil. With this approach, automatic sampling can be done directly through the plastic cap.
Additional testing samples may be taken manually from the outer chamber of the cup through a pouring spout in another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Due to the seal between the two chambers, any possible contamination of the specimen in the inner chamber which occurred during automatic extraction would not have disturbed the specimen in the outer chamber(s). To sample from the outer chamber, the top of the pour spout is removed and the specimen is poured from the cup. A small cap may be placed over the pour spout to reseal the outer chamber(s).
The container is preferably injection molded from polyolefin. Butyl rubber may be used for the septum. These materials absorb littler or no drugs from the specimen and release no contaminants, thereby allowing accurate test results. The container is preferably designed with inexpensive materials, few parts, and relatively simple features in order to be cost effective.